"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all," is one of the many philosophical quotes and sayings of Hypatia. She is the only woman mentioned with the history of mathematics, and her inventions greatly increased the knowledge of astronomy during her time. Hypatia is said to be the last librarian of the great Museum of Alexandria, and had many supporters that came from all over the world just to hear her views. Along with commentating and editing famous books of science and mathematics, she invented the hydrometer (a device that helps find the density and gravity of liquids), and a device that distills water. Her views of independence and strength were the cornerstone for her tough personality. Her father Theon was also a philosopher and mathematician and spurred Hypatia’s love of all puzzles of life. Hypatia is such a huge female role model that plays, movies, and countless books have been written about this amazing woman.Surprising to learn about Hypatiais that she was constantly surrounded by religious supporters every day (and taught them) but she was a pagan and practiced magic and tested all of its mystical properties. [1]
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Insights and Influences
Hypatia was naturally in love with the various questions of life but her father, philosophers, and the area Alexandria itself was a major part in the shaping of Hypatia's sharp mind. Hypatia was Greek, but born c. 350 in Alexandria. She was extremely close to her father who was well educated and also taught at the University of Alexandria. He said to have tried to create the “perfect individual “out of Hypatia by teaching her everything he knew and encouraging her to be well rounded. His thirst for answers must have rubbed off on Hypatia because it is believed that she was more clever than her own father. Theon, her father not only taught her mathematics, astronomy, but also kept her body healthy by physical activities every day to ensure a long life. Her father’s “program” also included teaching her how to actually teach others, such as how to properly speak to others efficiently and the study of various religions to help understand others views. “Her father encouraged her not to let any thing restrict her views such as religion” which is possibly the reason she did not obligate herself to any one religion. Hypatia’s father was that person who drove her to ask “why?”and be strong mentally and physically. [1]
Hypatia lived during the transition between the Hellenistic Age and the Age of Faith, which did not help her in any way to stay safe. [1] The state (or country) and the church still went hand in hand at that time so the reform to Christianity was growing increasingly on Hypatia; there were often religious riots in the early 390’s. Hypatia kept to her ideas and did not let others change her ways including men. “Hypatia is said to be a woman who didn’t know her place”. Women had no place in society around this period and were sadly considered nothing more than dogs. They were in for a great surprise when encountering Hypatia because she was not only beautiful in every way, but intelligent on the issues men were concerned about everyday. No matter how she much she surrounded herself with men, in teaching them, and speaking in the counsels she still cherished being a woman, and it is said that she remained forever a virgin. This was surprising because some sources said she married a philosopher named Isidore, but he could of been a great help to her when she was deep in thought, or had a problem.
The Library of Alexandria is where Hypatia is most often talked about and was a huge place in her life metaphorically and physically. It is said that her father Theon was the last head librarian in some places while others say it was Hypatia herself. It is known for sure that she was a teacher there and talked openly on her views and loved to speak about philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The library was a place for Hypatia to spread her wings and open her mind to the believed half a million scrolls in the library. The great library was the greatest pool of knowledge in the ancient world and stood for six hundred years before Hypatia was even born. Hypatia diffidently used the library to educate herself on matters that she believed were of great importance and matters, she wanted to inform others about because overall she was a teacher. [1]
Major Contributions
Hypatia is one of the oldest female inventors known today, but she also wrote books, and edited many famous books that are dubbed famous in today’s world. Her inventions are not widely still in use today but are considered “a breakthrough” nevertheless. One of her inventions was the hydrometer or also known as the hydroscope. [1] This device was the first way to measure the exact gravity of liquids; it was the shape of a flute with a weight at the bottom. She determined the specific gravity of the liquid by measuring how far the hydroscope sunk when placed in a liquid in a measured container. Another area of liquids she played with was water. She created a way to distill it and a way to calculate the level of water. Hypatia was also known to be really into all the areas of astronomy. She invented the plane astrolabe, or two metal discs stacked on top of each other that could rotate to find the exact “spherical” movements of an object in the sky. Hypatia closely followed the zodiac and this was a way to easily find the current location of the sun in the stars. It is very noticeable that Hypatia wanted to create helpful objects to her and the people in her exceedingly educated life.
“The Astronomical Cannon” is the great book of Hypatia’s, but it is possible that it really is a newer edition of another book on math tables by Ptolemy. It is said that she made significant contributions to math, mainly in the areas of geometry. Hypatia and her father edited many books of the math field such as: “Euclid’s Elements”, and “Ptolemy’s Almagest”. [1] According to the Suda she also commented on “Apollonius of Perga”, “Arithmetica of Diophantus of Alexandria”, and the “Conics of Apollonius”.Hypatia is often talked about writing in her favorite fields of study: philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics but her works were burned in the devastating fire of the Library of Alexandria.
Hypatia’s overall aura, and her way of doing things her way really changed and paved the way for women to be apart of a higher society(a society of men). It is said that she was so popular that when she walked the streets people threw flowers at her feet and praised her and she was greatly respected. One source said that she is the “High Priestess of Science”, because she thought outside the box and was the most beautiful woman in the whole world a vision to see, and an amazing sight for the entire world. It is sad to say that most of today’s knowledge is from secondary sources due the tough times she experienced. Her students Plotinus and Iamblichus revered her because she was such an amazing person. It is said that on of her students even fell in love with her and was not afraid of letting her know. Stunned by his actions she wanted no involvement, so she showed him the sanitary napkins from her monthly period and told him that what he was in love with was not beautiful at all. If this succeeded in teaching him a lesson we may never know but it most defiantly crushed his crush on her. Her ways of doing things may not seem reasonable but the records show that she always got the point across and taught someone something new.
Of the many people Hypatia encountered and taught every day, they were not the ones who truly inspired her. It was her father, books, a handful of her brightest students, and her possible husband.Her father was the person who was her role model, adviser, companion and family. He was the one who encouraged her to learn every thing that she could, which inspired her read and write everyday. He taught her how to orate and teach others in the best possible ways, which greatly helped her to be the one of the most understandable teacher in the country, possible the entire area. One source said that Theon was accomplished in math and philosophy but his greatest accomplishment was his daughter who’s accomplishments out shown him in many ways. Theon educated Hypatia in “mathematics, science, literature, philosophy, and the arts” along with physical exercise everyday. This in turn molded her mind to think only thoughts of pure reason. The writings of Plato were a huge part of Hypatia’s life because it simplified pure reason and helped her understand the many mysteries in life. Her father taught her every thing she knew and the things he did not know she learned from books. Books were not people she could interact with but in a way they were, they taught her the things that she thirsted to know and that she wanted to teach her own students. Her father was the editor of many books, which is why Hypatia is also known for editing famous books. Another aspect that Hypatia loved to learn about and figure out was astronomy and she has a crater named for her. It is called the Rimae Hypatia and it is between the Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Nectaris. [13]
Synesius, one of Hypatia’s students let it known that she was an amazing woman. He wrote many letters to her, this is how we know so much about her today, and praised her highly. He said that, “you always have power and long may you have it and make a good use of that power". And Hypatia did have a power over her pupils, which is why some believe that she was a witch. Another person she was believed to have cast a spell on was Orestes a civil governor of Egypt because they had a close relationship. This is not likely to have happened though because Hypatia was very popular with many individuals in the higher levels of society. I believe that Hypatia was considered a witch because of her strong tie with Neo-Platonism, the belief in pure intelligence which also was joined with the practice of magic. [9] [14]
Sources vary in what they have to say about Hypatia’s possible husband. Some say that she never married and remained pure her entire life. Other sources said that she married a philosopher named Isidore. Isidore would have been a substantial part of Hypatia’s life if she was indeed married to him, because not only would he be some one to confide in but also a fellow philosopher to help her think only in logic and reason as she believed.
All the people that affected Hypatia added up into her effecting thousands of people around the world though her ideas inventions and basic daily routines.
Legacy
Hypatia's legacy is often overshadowed by today's technology, but for those who have discovered her will remember her always. Hypatia's hydroscope made huge advances in the study of gravity, and how it acts on a liquid. Her plane astrolabe not only helped her but also other scholars in the area of astronomy and interpreting the stars and planets in motion. Her father was a big help in getting Hypatia started but it was Hypatia herself that really made her name famous to the people. The voluminous “The Astronomical Cannon” greatly increased the knowledge in figuring the many parts of geometry.
Hypatia was most known for her teaching skills. She was the most influential teacher of her time, and taught classes daily to all people of different religions and ideas, and her students grew in knowledge and understanding of the world. Since she was a teacher at the university she influenced many of the young and encouraged them to think about how this world really works. She was said to be “the most famous women scientist in the world, until Madam Marie Curie came to be famous.
On all of the sources I came to find about Hypatia’s death. It is the most talked about event in Hypatia’s life, not only because of how gruesome it was but also the affect it had on everyone else. There were several accounts of her death from apparent witnesses, of people of the time period, but all say the same about this sad event. Hypatia lived during a harsh time for pagans, because the reformation to Christianity was taking over and she refused to forget her beliefs. So out of revenge and hatred Peter the Reader a Christian, took her from the chariot she was riding in town. He and his fellow followers, a small group of monks, dragged her in to the church called Caesareum. Here they took her clothes and scrape all of her skin off with tiles. Next they decided to cut her body into pieces and burn them like an offering at Cinaron on the day of Lent. Her death was purely religious based and the entire reason that Hypatia refused to claim a religion, too much fighting and death to ever be peace in the society. All the possible inventions and helpful tools that could have been created by Hypatia died with her, and her great mind died at the sake of some one else’s war. The time that followed Hypatia’s death became to be known as the dark ages which were even more troubled than the time period that Hypatia lived in. Hypatia created a reformation in the thoughts of the people in Egypt, and it is shown how much she changed society by the countless books, movies and plays that have been based on Hypatia’s life and ideas in today’s events. This woman truly changed the way people of her time looked at the world.
Hypatia of Alexandria
Table of Contents
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all," is one of the many philosophical quotes and sayings of Hypatia. She is the only woman mentioned with the history of mathematics, and her inventions greatly increased the knowledge of astronomy during her time. Hypatia is said to be the last librarian of the great Museum of Alexandria, and had many supporters that came from all over the world just to hear her views. Along with commentating and editing famous books of science and mathematics, she invented the hydrometer (a device that helps find the density and gravity of liquids), and a device that distills water. Her views of independence and strength were the cornerstone for her tough personality. Her father Theon was also a philosopher and mathematician and spurred Hypatia’s love of all puzzles of life. Hypatia is such a huge female role model that plays, movies, and countless books have been written about this amazing woman. Surprising to learn about Hypatia is that she was constantly surrounded by religious supporters every day (and taught them) but she was a pagan and practiced magic and tested all of its mystical properties. [1]
Insights and Influences
Hypatia was naturally in love with the various questions of life but her father, philosophers, and the area Alexandria itself was a major part in the shaping of Hypatia's sharp mind. Hypatia was Greek, but born c. 350 in Alexandria. She was extremely close to her father who was well educated and also taught at the University of Alexandria. He said to have tried to create the “perfect individual “out of Hypatia by teaching her everything he knew and encouraging her to be well rounded. His thirst for answers must have rubbed off on Hypatia because it is believed that she was more clever than her own father. Theon, her father not only taught her mathematics, astronomy, but also kept her body healthy by physical activities every day to ensure a long life. Her father’s “program” also included teaching her how to actually teach others, such as how to properly speak to others efficiently and the study of various religions to help understand others views. “Her father encouraged her not to let any thing restrict her views such as religion” which is possibly the reason she did not obligate herself to any one religion. Hypatia’s father was that person who drove her to ask “why?”and be strong mentally and physically. [1]
Hypatia lived during the transition between the Hellenistic Age and the Age of Faith, which did not help her in any way to stay safe. [1] The state (or country) and the church still went hand in hand at that time so the reform to Christianity was growing increasingly on Hypatia; there were often religious riots in the early 390’s. Hypatia kept to her ideas and did not let others change her ways including men. “Hypatia is said to be a woman who didn’t know her place”. Women had no place in society around this period and were sadly considered nothing more than dogs. They were in for a great surprise when encountering Hypatia because she was not only beautiful in every way, but intelligent on the issues men were concerned about everyday. No matter how she much she surrounded herself with men, in teaching them, and speaking in the counsels she still cherished being a woman, and it is said that she remained forever a virgin. This was surprising because some sources said she married a philosopher named Isidore, but he could of been a great help to her when she was deep in thought, or had a problem.
The Library of Alexandria is where Hypatia is most often talked about and was a huge place in her life metaphorically and physically. It is said that her father Theon was the last head librarian in some places while others say it was Hypatia herself. It is known for sure that she was a teacher there and talked openly on her views and loved to speak about philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The library was a place for Hypatia to spread her wings and open her mind to the believed half a million scrolls in the library. The great library was the greatest pool of knowledge in the ancient world and stood for six hundred years before Hypatia was even born. Hypatia diffidently used the library to educate herself on matters that she believed were of great importance and matters, she wanted to inform others about because overall she was a teacher. [1]
Major Contributions
Hypatia is one of the oldest female inventors known today, but she also wrote books, and edited many famous books that are dubbed famous in today’s world. Her inventions are not widely still in use today but are considered “a breakthrough” nevertheless. One of her inventions was the hydrometer or also known as the hydroscope. [1] This device was the first way to measure the exact gravity of liquids; it was the shape of a flute with a weight at the bottom. She determined the specific gravity of the liquid by measuring how far the hydroscope sunk when placed in a liquid in a measured container. Another area of liquids she played with was water. She created a way to distill it and a way to calculate the level of water. Hypatia was also known to be really into all the areas of astronomy. She invented the plane astrolabe, or two metal discs stacked on top of each other that could rotate to find the exact “spherical” movements of an object in the sky. Hypatia closely followed the zodiac and this was a way to easily find the current location of the sun in the stars. It is very noticeable that Hypatia wanted to create helpful objects to her and the people in her exceedingly educated life.
“The Astronomical Cannon” is the great book of Hypatia’s, but it is possible that it really is a newer edition of another book on math tables by Ptolemy. It is said that she made significant contributions to math, mainly in the areas of geometry. Hypatia and her father edited many books of the math field such as: “Euclid’s Elements”, and “Ptolemy’s Almagest”. [1] According to the Suda she also commented on “Apollonius of Perga”, “Arithmetica of Diophantus of Alexandria”, and the “Conics of Apollonius”. Hypatia is often talked about writing in her favorite fields of study: philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics but her works were burned in the devastating fire of the Library of Alexandria.
Hypatia’s overall aura, and her way of doing things her way really changed and paved the way for women to be apart of a higher society (a society of men). It is said that she was so popular that when she walked the streets people threw flowers at her feet and praised her and she was greatly respected. One source said that she is the “High Priestess of Science”, because she thought outside the box and was the most beautiful woman in the whole world a vision to see, and an amazing sight for the entire world. It is sad to say that most of today’s knowledge is from secondary sources due the tough times she experienced. Her students Plotinus and Iamblichus revered her because she was such an amazing person. It is said that on of her students even fell in love with her and was not afraid of letting her know. Stunned by his actions she wanted no involvement, so she showed him the sanitary napkins from her monthly period and told him that what he was in love with was not beautiful at all. If this succeeded in teaching him a lesson we may never know but it most defiantly crushed his crush on her. Her ways of doing things may not seem reasonable but the records show that she always got the point across and taught someone something new.
Affect and Effect
Of the many people Hypatia encountered and taught every day, they were not the ones who truly inspired her. It was her father, books, a handful of her brightest students, and her possible husband. Her father was the person who was her role model, adviser, companion and family. He was the one who encouraged her to learn every thing that she could, which inspired her read and write everyday. He taught her how to orate and teach others in the best possible ways, which greatly helped her to be the one of the most understandable teacher in the country, possible the entire area. One source said that Theon was accomplished in math and philosophy but his greatest accomplishment was his daughter who’s accomplishments out shown him in many ways. Theon educated Hypatia in “mathematics, science, literature, philosophy, and the arts” along with physical exercise everyday. This in turn molded her mind to think only thoughts of pure reason. The writings of Plato were a huge part of Hypatia’s life because it simplified pure reason and helped her understand the many mysteries in life. Her father taught her every thing she knew and the things he did not know she learned from books. Books were not people she could interact with but in a way they were, they taught her the things that she thirsted to know and that she wanted to teach her own students. Her father was the editor of many books, which is why Hypatia is also known for editing famous books. Another aspect that Hypatia loved to learn about and figure out was astronomy and she has a crater named for her. It is called the Rimae Hypatia and it is between the Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Nectaris. [13]
Synesius, one of Hypatia’s students let it known that she was an amazing woman. He wrote many letters to her, this is how we know so much about her today, and praised her highly. He said that, “you always have power and long may you have it and make a good use of that power". And Hypatia did have a power over her pupils, which is why some believe that she was a witch. Another person she was believed to have cast a spell on was Orestes a civil governor of Egypt because they had a close relationship. This is not likely to have happened though because Hypatia was very popular with many individuals in the higher levels of society. I believe that Hypatia was considered a witch because of her strong tie with Neo-Platonism, the belief in pure intelligence which also was joined with the practice of magic. [9] [14]
Sources vary in what they have to say about Hypatia’s possible husband. Some say that she never married and remained pure her entire life. Other sources said that she married a philosopher named Isidore. Isidore would have been a substantial part of Hypatia’s life if she was indeed married to him, because not only would he be some one to confide in but also a fellow philosopher to help her think only in logic and reason as she believed.
All the people that affected Hypatia added up into her effecting thousands of people around the world though her ideas inventions and basic daily routines.
Legacy
Hypatia's legacy is often overshadowed by today's technology, but for those who have discovered her will remember her always. Hypatia's hydroscope made huge advances in the study of gravity, and how it acts on a liquid. Her plane astrolabe not only helped her but also other scholars in the area of astronomy and interpreting the stars and planets in motion. Her father was a big help in getting Hypatia started but it was Hypatia herself that really made her name famous to the people. The voluminous “The Astronomical Cannon” greatly increased the knowledge in figuring the many parts of geometry.
Hypatia was most known for her teaching skills. She was the most influential teacher of her time, and taught classes daily to all people of different religions and ideas, and her students grew in knowledge and understanding of the world. Since she was a teacher at the university she influenced many of the young and encouraged them to think about how this world really works. She was said to be “the most famous women scientist in the world, until Madam Marie Curie came to be famous.
On all of the sources I came to find about Hypatia’s death. It is the most talked about event in Hypatia’s life, not only because of how gruesome it was but also the affect it had on everyone else. There were several accounts of her death from apparent witnesses, of people of the time period, but all say the same about this sad event. Hypatia lived during a harsh time for pagans, because the reformation to Christianity was taking over and she refused to forget her beliefs. So out of revenge and hatred Peter the Reader a Christian, took her from the chariot she was riding in town. He and his fellow followers, a small group of monks, dragged her in to the church called Caesareum. Here they took her clothes and scrape all of her skin off with tiles. Next they decided to cut her body into pieces and burn them like an offering at Cinaron on the day of Lent. Her death was purely religious based and the entire reason that Hypatia refused to claim a religion, too much fighting and death to ever be peace in the society. All the possible inventions and helpful tools that could have been created by Hypatia died with her, and her great mind died at the sake of some one else’s war. The time that followed Hypatia’s death became to be known as the dark ages which were even more troubled than the time period that Hypatia lived in. Hypatia created a reformation in the thoughts of the people in Egypt, and it is shown how much she changed society by the countless books, movies and plays that have been based on Hypatia’s life and ideas in today’s events. This woman truly changed the way people of her time looked at the world.
References
1. Hypatia of Alexandria: Defender of Reason-http://members.cox.net/jhaldenwang/Hypatia.htm
2. Damascius: The Life of Hypatia from the Suda-http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-suda.html
3. Female Inventors-http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/hypatia.html
4. Hypatia of Alexandria, Egypt 375CE- woman-philosophers.com/hypatiaofalexandria
5. Hypatia-http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/hypatia.htm
6. Hypatia- Biograghy of Hypatia- http://womenshistory.about.com/od/hypati1/a/hypatia.htm
7. The Great Hypatia of Alexandria- http://www.librarising.com/spirituality/hypatia.html
8. Hypatia (Egyptian philosopher and mathimatician)-http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279463/Hypatia
9. The Philosopher's Zone- http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2009/2530998.htm#transcript
10.Great Inspirations-Hypatia- http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/inspire/hypatia.htm
11.Suda On Line Search- http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?
12.Encyclopedia Romania: Hypatia- http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/hypatia.html
13.Hypatia- http://www.womanastronomer.com/hypatia.htm
14.Neoplatonism- http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/n/neoplatonism.html
15.Gender and Technology- http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/.../astrolabe/
16.Bizzare Deaths- http://listverse.com/2009/07/17/another-10-incredibly-bizarre-deaths/